


Heaven is a House Built on Ashes

by LaicaLamben



Category: Homestuck
Genre: A bit of Highschoolstuck, AU: no Sburb/Sgrub, AUs within the AU, Abusive Dave's Bro | Beta Dirk Strider, Childhood Abuse, Demon!Kids, Demonstuck, Emotional Manipulation, F/F, Human!Trolls, Humanstuck, I can already feel in my bones, M/M, Multi, Other, Photosensitive!Karkat, Supernatural Charm, The heavier stuff is mostly in later chapters, Trans!Dave Strider, albino!Karkat, gay af, switching POV, this shit is gonna end up being looooong
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-19 19:43:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20662703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaicaLamben/pseuds/LaicaLamben
Summary: Karkat's a lonely dumbass, and, in a fit of mild jealousy and boredom, a̶c̶c̶i̶d̶e̶n̶t̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ summons a demon, opening a portal for a world he maybe possibly wishes he didn't know about to tumble into his life. True to everything he's experienced in his 18 years so far, things quickly start to spiral out of his control, and he (and all his friends) find themselves riding a wave of destiny, drama, and danger that just might end with them squaring up with God.I retain all copyright to this work. I do not give and have not given my permission for my work to be displayed or hosted on any third party websites or apps. Please use the AO3 website or the official Archive Track Reader app. Additionally, I do not give permission for my work to be used by any third party for purposes of profit, by ad revenue, direct sale, as content in a subscription service, or any other means.





	1. A Bloody Time in the Basement

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time actually posting my fanfic, and I got impatient and just wanted to get the first chapter out there, so I haven't really gotten anyone to beta it. Please excuse any grammar issues/inconsistencies, and please lmk if you have any advice/catch an error/etc. I may tweak things in the future if I actually get someone to beta this lmao.
> 
> Characters and relationships are mostly listed in the order I'm planning to have them join the story, though not quite so don't follow it as a constant rule. It can be used as a vague outline, though.

You think that waking up on the basement floor is not the best way to start your day. Then again, you've definitely slept in far worse places. Your phone is buzzing under you, impolitely reminding you that time moves regardless of your preference.  
  
You pull it out from under you, just catching the preview of one of your brother's texts before you drop it, startled, at the sound of the basement door hinges creaking.  
  
The creak stops quickly, guiltily, almost. You feel cold in your bones, frozen still, but force yourself to turn so your back isn’t to the door, running through the possibilities in your mind. _Kankri's out, maybe Kanaya? No, she'd message you before she came over. Sol? Much more likely to just call you. Surely not Gam..._ Your train of thought flies wildly off the track as your eyes focus on the person standing there.  
  
You both stand silently, stiffly, for about 5 seconds. Then he relaxes, casually dropping his hand from the doorknob as he leans on the wall at the top of the staircase.  
  
"'Sup?" he drawls, staring down the staircase at you through mirrored shades. When you hesitate, he chuckles lowly and saunters towards you. "Having second thoughts, marblecheeks?"  
  
You briefly see red (not his clothes, the insides of your eyelids, closed in anger), and you're yelling before you realize you've responded.  
  
"FUCK YOU, YOU ASSHOLE, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU, SO WHAT IF I LOOK FUNNY, I CAN STILL KICK YOUR ASS," (_Great argument there, Karkat, _a caustic part of you points out) "I MAY NOT KNOW YOU BUT I'LL STILL... YOU'RE IN MY _HOUSE_, REFERRING TO ME BY THE _COLOUR OF MY SKIN_, BEING A _FUCKING PRICK_ WHO'S GONNA JUST STAND THERE AND LAUGH BECAUSE YOU GOT THE FUCKING ALBINO MAD, I HOPE YOUR MAMA GIVES YOU SHIT WHEN YOU TELL HER HOW YOU GOT THESE FUCKING BRUI-mmmfnmfmrrrghhhhh," you growl, as his hand presses over your mouth. You launch a punch, but he effortlessly catches your wrist, holding it gently and firmly while he giggles out the last of his amusement.  
  
"Dude, chill, I was just tryna come up with something to call you, since you never told me your name after you summoned me." He's walking you towards the ratty couch your dad scrounged up for the "lounge," and you’re a little surprised (and a little scared) to find yourself actually calming down and following him.  
  
"THIS IS BULLSHIT." You have to shout to get the thought out, for some reason, but once you do, others follow more easily, and quietly. "BULLshit. I don't know you, you have no right to be calming me down, I don't want to be calm, _(he's sitting you down on the couch)_ I'm still mad at you, _(he sits on the coffee table, god Kankri would break his eardrums for that)_ because, uh, right, fuck you, what kind of nickname is marblecheeks even? _(You're starting to spiral, aren’t you.)_ Also like, what, should I call you chocolate butt just because you've got dark skin? NO, that's a load of SHIT, its RUDE, _(definitely spiraling)_ it's MEAN, it's NO WAY TO TREAT SOMEONE YOU'VE JUST MET, LITERALLY YOU COULDA JUST ASKED IF I WAS HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS WITHOUT THE SASSINESS." You glare at him, his face composed beneath his glasses, for a solid second or two before what you've said actually hits you. "Wait. Having second thoughts about _what_."  
  
His eyebrows shoot up, though he quickly turns the response into a judgemental stare. When he replies, his tone is carefully measured to remove as much uncertainty from his voice as possible. "Summoning a demon, dipshit. It's literally the only thing I know for a fact you've done."  
  
You reel a little bit, and then you remember, and your eyes go wide, scared. Right. Demon. The book. The chalk. The blood... the light... You shiver, and involuntarily glance across the room, at the smudged _(shit) _chalk lines on the floor on the other side of the room.  
  
For his part, he _(the demon)_ hasn't moved when you look back at him. You just kinda sit there, staring. You hadn’t thought it would work. You'd been bored and lonely and it was Saturday, and your friends were all busy and you'd figured what the hell, you could do the whole 'ritual,' edit the photos, then send pics of your 'demon' to your friends after, make fun of them for how much more interesting your life was...  
  
And now there's a demon in your basement.  
  
Probably.  
  
You peer at him, speak again into the silence that seems to hang in the air, taunting you. "Hey uh, could you actually. Prove you're a demon? And not just some asshole from the next town someone hired to pull a prank?"  
  
He relaxes ever so slightly and grins. "Sure thing. Whaddya wanna see? My horns?" He chuckles again, low and soft and maybe just a little bitter. "My tail? A temptation?"  
  
You try to remember the book, what you'd read. _Demons don’t have horns, exactly, something something, eyes and fire, something something voluntary signs…_  
  
You grin, almost as wide and shit eating as his is, and glare into the depths of his shades. "Your eyes would be fine proof."  
  
His grin disappears, wiping his face to become stony and unreadable. You're just beginning to worry you've actually pissed him off when he speaks. "Fine. But then I want something from you."  
  
You hesitate. He hasn't killed you yet, and he's out of his circle and you were knocked out so. Actually, you're just gonna ignore your attempts to logically justify giving a demon free rein to ask for anything. You nod, throwing caution to the wind.

"Why did you summon me?"  
  
Not the kind of thing you were expecting, but you're not gonna stare a gift horse in the mouth when he could have asked for your soul. "Um, I. I was lonely. And bored, mostly. Didn't think you’d actually uh. Exist?"  
  
He sits for a moment longer, then slowly lifts his shades off his face.  
  
You're surprised when you meet his eyes properly - they're red, and bright, so bright. Somehow with the shades off he seems vulnerable, almost, and it takes a significant amount of self control and reminding yourself he's a demon to not reassure him that you won't ... something. You're not really sure what he's afraid of, and before you can guess he's snapped the lenses back between the two of you.  
  
"Well then." His voice is a bit shaky in its drawl, but still warm and God you wish you could place his accent. "You know I'm a demon now. And I know your name is Karkat Vantas." He stands up to look down at you more than he already was, crosses his arms. "What do you want with me now that you know I'm real, Vantas?"  
  
You stare at him, trying to think, and actually properly look at him for the first time. His skin is a rich brown, with ochre and mahogany undertones, contrasting with his short cornrows of white-blond hair. His shirt is white and red, with a broken record on the front, and his shorts are ragged army cutoffs, though they look heavily burned in places along the hem. He coughs politely, and you're thrown back to his question.  
  
"I, uh. I don't know. I mean, I'm still lonely and bored, and you're definitely interesting, so..."  
  
He chuckles again and bends down to look into your eyes over his shades. It takes you a moment to parse his words through the hypnosis of his eyes. "Jeez, dude. Didja hit your head a little too hard earlier, did I overdo the Strider charm?"  
  
You break eye contact and cross your arms, but your buzzing phone saves you from having to rebut. "Shit, sorry, one sec, I have to take this."  
  
Aren't you lucky. Kankri's on the line.


	2. Rules and Asses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave is Gay. Dave is Very Gay. He is the Gayest. He is also pretty used to getting what he wants, because he's suave, but Karkat Doesn't Trust Like That. Especially given that Dave is a _demon._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will probably get a big overhaul yet given that it's still pretty unpolished but I have absolutely 0 self control and I wrote chapters 1 and 2 together so it's done enough to publish, right?? Even though it's just barely over half the length of the last chapter? So just fair warning, this is probably not the final version of this chapter.
> 
> Dave is a bit of an ass but I promise he actually has at least one (1) caring bone in his body.

You spend twenty-three minutes (and 14 seconds) waiting for the kid to get off the phone. By which you mean you spend two minutes trying to ignore his annoyed and nearly pleading gaze as he yells down the line to his brother, and a bit over twenty-one attempting to analyze the values of that ass, since he's gotten up to pace around the room.  
  
Unfortunately for Your Gayness, Karkat seems to be a follower of absolutely no sort of fashion, and is wearing a baggy, black shirt _tucked into_ somehow even looser sweatpants that he's pulled up to at least where you guess his belly button would be. You satisfy yourself by watching his pale hand (cold and white, you really do like the marble comparison, even if he is a bit pinker than the stone) gesture angrily while he paces away from you, and 'casually' examining his face as he walks towards you.  
  
He catches you a few times, reddish brown eyes flicking to you, brow furrowing slightly, but mostly he's busy yelling about some Ampora character his brother seems to have decided is coming over for dinner. His hair is so blond it's almost silvery, and hot damn if you don't want to run your fingers through its thick messy curls.  
  
And then he's off the phone and walking towards you where you've perched on the arm of the couch and _fuck_ he's cute. You drape yourself a little more luxuriously across the arm and back and smile with too many teeth at him. "Sooo, what's the verdict Mister Vantas? Do you even know the rules for this kinda thing?"  
  
Fuck you really hope the exasperated look on his face is left over from his brother, not meant for you.  
  
"HMM, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE YOU SHOULD SEE IF YOU CAN CONTORT YOURSELF INTO AN ACTUAL PRETZEL ON THE COUCH, AND THEN EAT YOURSELF FOR GOOD MEASURE." He stops, glares at you, shakes his head and sits down at the other end of the couch. "OR YOU COULD MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL AND EXPLAIN THE RULES."  
  
You hoist yourself gracefully up off the arm and land on the couch next to him, pressing up against his side, then pulling away a bit. "And where would Mister Vantas like his wittle demon to start, with the rules he's already fucked up, or-"  
  
"Shut up, Strider." He sniffs at you a bit, goes to pull away and runs into the arm, shifts the motion to roughly toss himself back into the cushions. "Just. Start with the basics."  
  
"As you wish," you snark. "Rule number 1: Never summon a demon unless you know what you're doing." He groans, but you talk over him, ticking the list off on your fingers. "Rule number 2: Never summon a demon without binding it. Rule number 3: Never trust anything a demon says unless you can force it to tell the truth. Rule number 4: Never look a demon in the eyes unguarded, it lets them look into your soul. Rule number 5: Never look at a demon's true form unguarded, it will drive you mad. Rule number 6: Never tell a demon your name except in a contract, and even then you probably shouldn't. Rule number 7: Uhh, never let a demon take you to hell. Er, rule number, 8?: Never feed a demon anything other than raw human meat, uhh-"  
  
"Strider. You better not be making this shit up." Karkat seems an ashier pale than before, and his nails (painted black, nice) are digging into the couch. You think he's trying to glare at you, but he's a bit too scared to do so properly.  
  
"Alright, you got me, I ain't telling you shit about how this all works. You gotta figure it out yourself, just like every other dumbshit summoner. In the meantime, you got any aj?"  
  
He just stares at you  
  
"AJ? You know. Apple juice? This boy is hankering for some good old-fashioned fruity gold, you gotta hook him up."  
  
"You're nuts." He shakes his head disbelievingly and gets up, moving to wipe up the smudged chalky mess on the far side of the staircase.  
  
"No, I'm Dave."  
  
You catch him smirking just a bit as he bends down to pick up a half burnt candle, and catch your face starting to copy him when suddenly a loud crack-bang echoes around the room, and out of the bright orange light that's left you squinting and Karkat on the floor holding his face, _his_ voice echoes.  
  
"ELIZABETH STRIDER, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh golly, Striders are all such drama queens, aren't they?

**Author's Note:**

> No I'm not elaborating on Dave's powers yet, but at least two demonic powers are used here.


End file.
